MIRANDA'S column "Treading treacherous water" (WT, January 6) conjured up a delightful vision of country folk frolicking in water and stirred my own memories of dipping in the Murrumbidgee River at Wagga, without parental observation.

We were just a couple of primary school-aged kids pretending to swim by crawling along the bottom and kicking our feet and having the time of our lives on a hot summer afternoon after school.

We rode our bikes from home without any fear of being molested or coming to any harm.

Not only has the delight in simple water fun changed for many, but so has the freedom children once had in this wonderful country; to delight in long bike rides and walks to and from school with their siblings and friends, stopping to take turns on the slippery dip at the public park without mum or dad holding their hand, knowing they were safe and that adults were people who cared about them.

Now that freedom - like water - is also feared, and the simple delights of such activities are lost to the children of this generation.

That is unless they have relatives who live in the country, where a holiday or visit can still mean yabbying in the dam and a hot afternoon spent in the big dam happily splashing about.

My grandchildren are among a privileged few who can enjoy this freedom from time to time.

They love to hear the stories about our own childhood such as the once-a-week "bath" and the dead possum in the water tank.

Ruth Bartlett, Majorca